


Switching Sides

by NightAngelFalling



Category: Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Gen, No couples yet, Tragedy, becoming a villain, going to the dark side, hurt comfort, will likely add more later
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-30
Updated: 2015-05-17
Packaged: 2018-03-26 12:43:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,282
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3851392
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NightAngelFalling/pseuds/NightAngelFalling
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What does it take to go from a science loving, pun making, hero and jokester like Wally West and twist him into...something else? The Light may provide all the answers as they fold Kid Flash into their grand scheme... But who's to say that this wasn't the real Wally West... Waiting to come into The Light...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The First Fight

In the distance, red and blue sirens wailed as the police cars sped across the city to their destination. Grey clouds of smoke poured out of Central City Bank as one of the twin cities Rouges going at the vault with explosives. Soon, the infamous criminal and Rogue leader, Captain Cold, rushed out dragging bags of money.

"Almost too easy," Cold snickered, bee lining for a getaway car parked across the street.

As soon as the words left his mouth, a blur of red and orange came speeding and zigzagging through the maze of traffic, pedestrians, and police cars to pause in front of the parka wearing ice villain long enough for Cold to glimpse the Flash and his little sidekick, Kid Flash.

"Well, about time you two showed up!" The captain taunted, reaching for the hilt of his Cold Gun, "You two are supposed to be super-fast and you're late… Looks like you're losing your edge, Flasher!"

Flash just rolled his eyes in annoyance, any response cut off by the younger speedster.

"Can we just cut to the part where you surrender and the cops can lock you up? We have lives to get to!" Kid Flash said impatiently. Wally seriously did not want to deal with Cold right now…

Why?

He had a life! He loves being a hero but he couldn't be one 24/7. Plus, he wanted to get to the cave to meet Rob…

"Why so impatient, Baby Flash?" Cold asked with a hint of menace. He was surprised at the kid's eagerness to leave. Normally when they did this dance, the kid would act impulsively and accidently trash a few things in his enthusiasm, making quips and awful puns as he went.

Flash sometimes had to tell him to "slow down" or something similar and then deal with him…

"Sorry Cold, but I got to agree with the kid on this one!" Flash said with a smile, giving Kid Flash a high five as their running paths overlapped.

Now it was Cold's turn to roll his eyes. He was getting nowhere. "Uggh, I don't have time for this!"

With the 'no warning' way he'd picked up from all his run-ins with the Flash, Captain Cold switched on his freeze gun and shot a sharp blast of ice while the two speedsters ran circles around him in their attempt to create a vacuum and deprive Captain Cold of his oxygen **.**

Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending what side you're on, Captain Cold managed to nail the Flash square on the legs. The scarlet speedster sped up his molecules and vibrated right out of the freezing anklet until he reduced it to a puddle.

The two different Flashes resumed their fight against Cold.

Captain Cold thought if he couldn't tag Flash, he'll just tag Baby Flash instead. Flash would want to save his sidekick, and allow him a speedy getaway. With that in mind he aimed his Cold Gun at Kid Flash and squeezed the trigger. The force sent the yellow and red blur stumbling back a good couple of meters.

_Uh Oh,_ Kid Flash thought, gritting his teeth and bracing for impact as his right boot, trapped in a block of ice, pulled him to the pavement. Sidelined with a possible broken nose, Kid Flash huffed and crossed his arms while he waited for The Flash to either wrap it up with Cold or come to his rescue.

With practiced movements the red clad hero disarmed Cold and delivered a freight train uppercut, knocking him flat on his back. Police officers arrived on scene, snapping handcuffs on the Rouge and shoving him into a squad car.

"Oh yeah, Flasher is fast. Baby Flash, not so much," Captain Cold said dryly, "He should really have watched where he was going.” Besides, short terms tactics weren't his thing, long-term tactics were.

"You're through, Cold," Flash said, watching the cops escort him to the back of the van. Cold smiled in response to the scarlet speedster.

"Looks like you finally caught me… See ya next time, Flasher!" The Flash opened his mouth to respond, but the captain continued on: "Don't kid yourself Flash, we both know that there will be a next time," With that, Cold gave one final smirk as the cops shut the door and the van drove off.

The Flash zipped over to his nephew and vibrated his hand molecules to melt Kid Flash out, who had started to shiver. Flash extended his hand and after Kid Flash shakily grasped it, hulling him to his feet.

"You okay, Kid?" Flash asked worriedly. Wally was his nephew and Barry was supposed to be protecting him, both as an uncle and as a mentor. Getting hypothermia and a busted nose didn't help so much with the protecting part.

As a day job Barry was a forensic scientist and he knew what hypothermia looked like and the probability, but he just wasn't going to risk it with Wally.

"J-j-j ust a little c-c-cold, that's all..." Kid Flash attempted his brave face but Flash wasn't going to risk it, especially as Wally kept shaking even with his hyperactive metabolism.

"Let's go to Mt Justice, I'm sure Canary should be able to help you out," Flash offered kindly. He knew how much Black Canary had affected his nephew and Wally seeing his teammates could help him.

Wally's green eyes instantly lit up, "Sure and the Team's already there, looking at the time though, they are probably in the middle with hand-to-hand training from Black Canary..."

"Race you there!"

"You are so on!" With that the two speedsters ran off in a burst of wind.

_Recognized Flash 04_

_Kid Flash B03_

" _Fail: Artemis,"_ The computerized voice said in monotone as the blond hit the floor. Again.

"Good Match," Robin said while offering his hand to help her up.

Artemis took his hand, "Thanks." She said taking a big swing at the bottle of water she had brought with her. Once Artemis was finished, she gave Robin quite a stiff once over, who in turn gave a small chuckle.

"What?" Robin asked playfully. He had caught Artemis' glare and decided he was going to be a bit of a troll about it.

"How old did you say you were again?" Artemis asked seriously. She had a vague idea but she wanted to make sure, plus the archer was kind of hoping she was wrong.

Robin smirked once again. Artemis hated that smirk.

"Thirteen." Robin answered, adjusting his dark sunglasses a little bit, playfully teasing Artemis his blue eyes. Her blond eyebrows shot up, and she turned around to M'gann, who watching from the side lines.

"I can't believe I got my butt kicked by a thirteen year old." Artemis quietly ranted to M'gann, who only shrugged her shoulders' shyly.

"Well… He is trained by Batman…" The Martian comforted. Her blond teammate scoffed slightly, but then felt bad. She knew that M'gann was simply trying to comfort her.

"Thanks for the boost in confidence…" Artemis muttered but she seemed to have been ignored. The archer followed M'gann's gaze across the room.

Wally had snuck over to the training stage and tapped Robin lightly on the shoulder, causing the younger boy to whip around, fists raised.

Immediately noticing his best friend, Robin dropped his demeanor: "KF, you're here! I'm sorry, I didn't notice you. I was busy training," Robin apologized, trying to cover up his surprise.

_Thank god Batman isn't here, he would have my head for not paying attention._ Robin didn't know why he was so spacey… must have been distracted by something. Kid Flash gave a small grin.

"It's cool, Rob" Wally shrugged, but secretly he was basking in the accomplishment of sneaking up on a ninja.

"Hey kids, is Canary here?" Flash asked, resting his hand on his nephew's shoulder. "Wally took a blast from Cold and I want to make sure he doesn't catch Hypothermia or something."

Black Canary pushed herself off the wall she'd been leaning against and walked towards the centre of the room. "I'm here Flash, Come on Wally, let's go to the infirmary." The blond hero said. Wally nodded and broke into a trot, following Canary.

Almost to the door she paused and turned back to The Team, "Zatanna, Rocket, you're up. Aqualad, keep an eye on them then you can choose the next match up. And Flash… you can watch so long as you don't do anything _stupid._ " Canary said glaring at him. She placed her hands either side of her hips.

The Flash wasn't immature (most of the time anyway…) but he was certainly less mature than some of the other leaguers.

"No promises!" The man in red chirped. Black Canary rolled her eyes and continued to the infirmary.

Flash watched Zatanna and Rocket spar without their powers. The two circled each other, delivering somewhat novice blows with inexperienced dodging. As he watched them, he thought about all the work Canary had done and needed to do with the Team.

The wheels started turning.

If it weren't for all this training, Wally wouldn't be in the infirmary right now he'd be in intensive care…or worse.

_And even with this training, he's still suffering. Maybe he needs more time training?_

"Flash? FLASH!" Canary shouted, snapping her fingers in front of his masked face. She was somewhat concerned at how long it had taken her teammate to respond. The Flash's attention was so focused toward the match he wasn't really watching; the speedster hadn't noticed Canary until just now.

"Huh, what? Oh, it's only you, Canary." Flash said mildly

"If you're worried about Wally, he's fine. Go ahead if you want to see him." The Black Canary frowned, catching him on the elbow. She spoke quietly so the young heroes wouldn't overhear, "They're strong kids, Barry. Smart, experienced, they're doing fine."

She was well aware how much the mentors (sans Superman) cared for their protégé's, and Barry was no exception.

"I you're right." He answered, more out of habit then agreement, "You're right, Canary," and with that the scarlet speedster dashed over to the infirmary to check up on his nephew.

Flash peeked his head through the infirmary door and walked over to his nephew, who was sitting up, looking fine and a lot less pale than when he brought him in. Barry breathed a sigh of relief, glad his nephew was unharmed and sipping a mug of hot chocolate.

"Hey kid, how are you doing?" Flash asked

"I'm feeling great, Uncle Barry, I'm still a bit cold but great!" Kid Flash said gleefully.

Flash sighed and rubbed the back of his neck for a couple of seconds. Just, how was he going to explain to Wally his latest decision?

"Uh listen Wally… you're probably not going to like what I am about to say but really… it is in your best interest. I'm going to cut you from the team for a month." Flash finished quietly.

Wally widened his eyes. Uncle Barry _was not serious,_ if he thought that he could be cut from The Team. He had absolutely no reason to! Wally was doing perfectly fine and hadn't been involved in much _major_ trouble, anyway…

"WHAT?! You can't do that!" Wally protested. Flash took off his mask and soon baby blue eyes met fierce green eyes. Barry had noticed the sting of betrayal that his nephew had obviously felt. But Barry wasn't betraying him. He was simply trying to stop his only nephew from getting killed.

"I know you don't like it, but I gave this a lot of thought and I was debating it in my head the whole time Canary's been with you. It's for the best. Seeing Rocket and Zatanna spar reminded me of how much you need this practice. You barely survived Cold with all your training and without it… This isn't permanent, Wally, but it's also not up for debate."

Flash lowered his tone of voice for the last part; he couldn't imagine a world where he didn't have his nephew with him. Barry loved Wally like a son and Iris had told him that Wally certainly looked up to him like a dad. Heck, he'd been a president of The Flash's fan club at one time.

"I did survive and I'm perfectly fine." Wally said in his defence. "And you want me off because Cold tagged me?"

Wally had failed to see his uncle's logic. It was Captain _freakin'_ Cold! The worst Cold does is take hostages. He wasn't a murderer like Gorilla Grodd or a complete sociopath like one of the Gotham crazies…

"Sure Cold's just your average bank robber but tomorrow you could be going against someone totally different… Someone with a little more speed than you…" Barry placed his hands on Wally's shoulder. The younger speedster's face slightly softened at that. He knew _exactly_ who Uncle Barry was talking about. "Maybe someone like Professor Zoom…"

Wally wasn't scared of Zoom… It's just that their last encounter had left Wally a little shaken physically. However, Wally wasn't going to give his uncle the satisfaction of him winning without a say in this.

"I can handle Professor _Zero_." He spat, "Sure he gave me a broken rib and a broken arm the last time with fought" Wally's confidence levels dropped as he listed and realised the extent of his injuries, but soon his voice rose up again in attempted confidence "But I am pretty sure I gave him a black eye!"

Barry sighed. _This was not going to be easy…_

"You know what, forget I mentioned Zoom… Sorry kid but my decision is final. If you're getting tagged easily by Captain Cold, then maybe you're not exactly ready to fight the big league villains." Now Wally widened his eyes. His uncle and mentor was just going to drop him from The Team (which he'd rightfully earned his place on) because Cold got a lucky shot in?

"I CAN handle Captain Cold. And if this is your version of saying, I'm not as good as you, then you don't have to sugar-coat it," Wally huffed in anger. What kind of game was his uncle playing at?

Now it was Barry's turn to be surprised, his eyes widened.

It struck Barry that this conversation was going a lot worse than he thought it would. He should have picked his words more carefully, "What? No, Kid, that's not what I'm trying to say at all! You're not worse than me and besides you will be allowed to come to the cave but not go on missions and when the team are on missions, you'll be here, training with Black Canary" Flash fully explained himself now, hoping his nephew would be satisfied.

He looked at Wally's face.

He wasn't.

"I need some air." Wally whispered hoarsely. Giving one last glare at his uncle and mentor, he was up and out the door, leaving Barry sitting in silence beside the now unoccupied bed.

Wally needed a chance to think clearly about what his uncle had said. Maybe his angry mind was clouding his judgment?

Putting on his mask, Kid Flash briskly trotted out of the Med Bay and towards the zeta beam platform. He was greeted by his smiling teammates, suddenly, painfully aware that he was off The Team.

Robin walked up to his best friend. "KF, you're looking better, M'gann baked you some cookies." Robin happily informed his best friend, but quickly noticed his angered demeanour and dropped his signature smirk.

The boy wonder chided himself. How could he not notice his best friend was clearly very angry at a conversation him and The Flash had in the infirmary? Wow, was he off his game today…

"Not in the mood, Rob" Wally said venomously as stomped past all of his teammates and towards the zeta beams. He hated being rude to his them but right now he needed some space.

" _Recognised, Kid Flash B03"_ The computer announced and with the burst of yellow light the zeta beams were empty.

"What's up with Baywatch?" Artemis asked. It was really unlike Wally to stomp off angrily, without a word of explanation. He always _had_ something to say.

They all turned to the Flash who was standing silently and rubbing the back of his neck, awkwardly. The Team waited for red clad speedster to give his explanation.

The Flash looked between the faces, their expressions ranging from confused to angry.

Black Canary spoke up, saying what they all wanted to ask:

"What happened in there Flash?" She and The Team waited for an explanation, desperate for some answers right now…


	2. Explanations

I do not own Young Justice. Their rights go to the respected owners, however, I do own this plot.

As soon as the zeta beam transported him back to Keystone. Wally went on a run. A run was always how Wally cooled his head. Whether it would be bad marks, a fight, or just anger, Wally would run.

Running helped cool his mind down, something he needed after the argument with his uncle.

How could Uncle Barry think that he wasn't ready to take on the big league villains? Cold tagged some part of his body all the time and Wally just brushed it off, so he couldn't understand why his uncle reacted now.

Being grounded he could handle but being taken of missions… his uncle might as well have taken him off The Team altogether!

A small part of his mind whispered that Uncle Barry just trying to look after him. Wally had been shivering when his uncle got to him and was sure it had taken Black Canary at least a dozen heat packs to increase his body temperature.

The voice also nagged that if Wally had a protégé and something happened to them he would be downright terrified. But to take him off The Team was something Wally did not get…

Why react now?

Barry was really in trouble now. How in the world was he going to explain to Wally's teammates that the younger speedster had literally walked out on him? On all of them, in fact? How was he going to explain that hatred he saw in Wally's eyes, however brief it was?

He couldn't do it, he just couldn't…

But it wouldn't be fair to the Team if they didn't find out what happened. They deserved to know the truth. No matter how harsh it would seem.

He rubbed his neck again. Black Canary raised her eyebrow. Barry always did that when he was nervous or just in a lot of trouble.

Finally, after a stalling sigh, the Flash spoke up, "Wally and I had a big argument about something and he walked out on me," he gestured toward the zeta beams, "As you all just saw."

Robin bit back a sigh. That gave literally no detail at all. They had already pieced together the whole argument thing… Flash simply just confirmed it.

"A little more detail, please!" Robin inwardly winced at hearing his agitated and angry tone out loud, but The Flash should understand. This was Wally they were talking about. His best, and probably only real friend he fully trusted in his life right now…

And Wally never got angry unless you took his food away or a super villain showed up and threatened who he cares about.

The Flash rubbed his neck again, a habit that was beginning to annoy Connor… a lot. The clone crossed his arms and looked away, otherwise he would end up punching the older speedster.

"Well," The hero started, drawing out the word, "I guess I can give you the short story…" Flash offered. He didn't really want the Team to know the whole truth. Just the basic details should suffice.

Aqualad stepped forward. If they were to resolve the conflict between Kid Flash and his mentor, the full root of the problem must be uncovered. To do that, the whole situation had to be known and heard.

"While it was very kind of you to give a summary," Aqualad paused slightly, "I-we, as a team-believe that we are entitled to know the whole story, right from the start." Aqualad paused again, "If you do not mind."

The last part was purely common courtesy. They were all going to hear the story, whether or not The Flash would tell them willingly.

"Okay then," Flash sighed, he really didn't want to but Aqualad made a pretty good point, "I got to warn you, it's a long one…" Once the scarlet speedster made sure he had the whole Team listening, he continued.

"Earlier today, Kid Flash and I, went out to stop Captain Cold in one of his bank robberies. It's the usual, Cold blows stuff up, probably takes a few hostages, we catch him, then he gets out and the whole gig gets started again."

The Team just stood silently, each with at least one eyebrow slightly raised. Some even widened their eyes and stared at The Flash. How was he so calm about his villain that just casually escaped whenever he felt like it?

Flash paused sheepishly.

He had noticed the young heroes' expressions of surprise and decided to explain the security at the Twin Cities' shared prison where all the non-meta-humans went, "Iron Heights isn't exactly Belle Reve when it comes to security." Some of The Team went back into their relaxed positions, eager to know more but one or two still had the surprised expression plastered on their face.

"Anyway, me and Wally go against Cold, running circles all around him. He shoots me in the leg but I just can vibrate my molecules really fast so I can get out of it. Then, Cold gets Kid square on the feet. Since Wally can't vibrate his molecules, I had to finish up with Cold before I could help him."

Artemis raised an eyebrow. She really didn't see this as a reason for Kid Idiot to go stomping of like a ten year old he truly seemed to act like most of the time.

"I melted the ice, however, Wally looked really blue and that's never a good sign. Especially after dealing with extremely cold temperatures. So I took him here for Mt. Justice." Flash opened his mouth to continue but Artemis cut him off. She restedher hands on her hips.

"Sorry if I'm speaking out of turn or whatever, but what you told us so far really doesn't seem like anything to argue about. You're just a guy looking out for his protégé. No biggie…" The blond archer let her hands flop to her side and she shrugged her shoulders. Artemis really didn't care whether or not she spoke out of turn, but it had to be said.

Turning around to see most of her teammates, it seemed that her they agreed with her, most of them nodding their heads in agreement.

Behind and to her left, Rocket's voice said,"Girl makes a point!"

"I'm getting to that," The Flash assured, "So I give Wally to BC for treatment and while Wally was recovering, I see Zatanna and Rocket spar, it gets me thinking. What would've happened to Wally if he didn't have this training? He could be in intensive care…or worse." Barry closed his eyes so he would not have to see the kids' faces.

"So I make a decision and I tell Wally while he's still recovering. I tell him that I'm going to keep him from going to missions. And while you guys are out, he'll be learning combat with Canary." Eyes went wide, eyebrows were raised. "And the end of that you all saw…"

Artemis groaned slightly. That made so much more sense. No matter how many times Wally messed up on missions, he always itched for another one. So saying to him that he was off missions was like saying you were grounded from doing the thing you love. The Flash, of all people, should have known that.

"How long?"

"A month." Another chorus of sighs and groans came out. That long would have pissed any hero off.

M'gann spoke up quietly, "If you don't mind me asking, Flash but why did you think that Wally needed more training?" The Martian really hoped that she wasn't out of line but for extra safety, she bowed her head letting her amber hair hide her face.

"Look…" Barry sighed. He prayed that he wasn't going to pull up memories, "I don't know how close each of you are with your mentors but when this Team was officially approved, a set of rules were put in place and decided upon."

"Which said?" Superboy questioned.

This time Black Canary placed a hand on Barry's shoulder and nodded at him. Time to give him a break.

"You guys may have amazing super powers and skills, but you guys are still minors in the eyes of the law. That means even on missions, there has to be another pair of eyes behind your back. Those eyes are Batman's." She paused briefly but continued. "That's why he gives you briefings even though we agreed that the missions would be 'League Missions', that all changes when you're not doing any missions. Your mentors look after you. If you get hurt, or worse, they are directly responsible for your wellbeing and they are the first people we turn to if you get hurt… and with guilt like that… you just can't take it lightly and we as a team, cannot ignore that."

"For those of you whose mentors are unavailable, Red Tornado gets the job." Black Canary continued, "So all Flash was doing was abiding by those rules and being a good mentor." The blond hero finished, shootingThe Flash a weak smile.

The Team's eyes were wide open. Some had never really thought about it before… had no idea this was put into place by their mentors and the League. How much stress their mentors must go through when they receive the injuries that they do…

What to them is a bruised leg, to the mentors, it's a heart attack…

"Listen, Flash," Robin sighed. He knew about the rule thing but he was going to brush that aside, "To Wally, that's like saying, you're not going to eat junk food but your friends are going to eat them right in your face. And when they are, you have to eat fruits and vegetables." The boy wonder hoped that the food analogy would help the speedster understand things a little better.

Flash paused for a nano second. He'd had an idea about how his partner would react but hadn't had an inkling how the Team would.

Playing it safe, he finally cracked a smile: "Thanks Robin."

Robin smiled as well; it was nice to help him out. Artemis offered the next bit of advice.

"Look, if there's one thing I have learned about Wally, it's that he can't stay mad for long. So give him some space and make it clear you're attempting to talk to him. Phrasing your words carefully." Artemis added extra emphasis on the last word. They didn't want to go through this again.

"Oh, and you might not want to mention the whole rules thing… It'd freak Wally out a lot." Zatanna added in. She really shouldn't be encouraging Flash and Kid Flash to keep secrets. But it would freak Wally out a lot as he might be so focused on protecting Flash that he forgets to protect himself.

Barry nodded. He absorbed and listened to every single piece of advice he was offered.

"Thanks guys!" Barry was glad these guys had Wally's back.

But he knew what he needed to do as a mentor and as an uncle. Barry wasn't going to budge.

With a gust of wind and the robotic announcement, the Flash disappeared in a flare of yellow energy.

"Sooooo… Since the Flash Family crisis has been averted," Robin started, turned to the rest of his team. "Anyone up for some pizza?"

Superboy nodded and spoke up: "Sure and I know a great place in Happy Harbor." Connor gave a rare smile at the last part and soon The Team went to change.

Barry had decided to follow The Team's advice and give Wally three hours, plenty of time for a speedster. So in that time, Barry spent it on the watchtower or stopping minor theft and attacks. After the three hours were over, Barry changed into his regular clothes and ran over to Wally's house.

His brother-in-law answered the doorbell's chime.

"Barry, I didn't expect to see you here." Rudy, Wally's father said, surprised at his brother-in-law's visit. Barry (without Iris) really didn't visit often and if he did, it was mostly something to do with Iris.

"Yeah, hi Rudy, is Wally home?" Barry asked nervously. Barry felt slightly bad since him and Rudy never connected but Wally was his top priority right now.

"Um, yeah, he's in his room" Rudy said, still obviously confused by the blonde man's arrival. Barry seemed upset and scared. Rudy decided not to press on since he knew how close his brother-in-law and nephew were. Besides, it was not his place to say anything…for now.

"Thanks, I'll just go now." and with that Barry sped off upstairs.

In his room, Wally was still upset by his uncle's words. It really did felt like a bee sting. He really couldn't believe his uncle had reacted so violently over Cold. That reaction was to be expected if Wally took a hit from The Reverse Flash.

Not someone like Captain Cold. Heck, it was a foot on one freakin' leg. But no matter how upset Wally was and how much he hated his uncle's decision, he just couldn't bring himself to hate the man completely.

"Hey, kid, mind if I come in?" Barry asked politely. He was pretty sure him and Wally were still on troubled waters after that morning.

Wally turned around and his green eyes flared: "Look if you're trying to sell me about how quitting missions is going to save my life, you're just wasting your time!" Wally said angrily.

He didn't really hate his uncle…but he wasn't going to let Uncle Barry know that.

Barry sighed but he wasn't going to give up. Not just yet: "Look, I'm not here to convince anything to you. I just want you to hear me out, okay?" the older man said calmly.

Unlike Wally, Barry kept his head screwed on his shoulders when it came to stressful situations, especially when it came to family issues.

"Fine but make it quick" Wally said dully. He wanted to give Uncle Barry a chance to explain himself. Wally was a scientist. Maybe his uncle could see another side that he had failed to see. Plus he was facing the guy who was like a father number two, especially since Barry took him in after he got super speed himself.

"Look kid, you're my protégé, it's my responsibility to make sure you don't get hurt when you're not with the Team. If you do get hurt or worse… I will never be able to live with myself." Barry whispered that last sentence and Wally's face softened at that, a sudden wave of guilt washing over him. He had no idea Uncle Barry felt that way. Could his blind anger have blocked his viewpoint?

"And I just thought that extra training with Canary might help. After all, she has had her fair share of scars…" Barry said.

Wally nodded. Even though he flirted with Canary…a lot, He respected her. And Wally knew that when it came to combat, the Black Canary was the go to gal. But all that still didn't give him an explanation.

"Why did you cut me from the team?" Wally asked quietly. That was the million-dollar question he wanted answered. Now if Barry answered correctly, Barry wins. If not then…Wally really didn't know what would happen then.

"I thought maybe I was doing something wrong. That I wasn't training you properly because Bats sends you off on a mission or you're hanging out at the Cave." Barry said.

Wally smiled. Uncle B just became a millionaire! Metaphorically of course he didn't have a million dollars lying around…

But, as fast as it left, the anger built up in him again.

"It was Captain Cold! We face him like every other day! I always get something frozen by him and you've never cut me from the Team or given me extra training." There was anger rising from his voice. He wasn't lying. He didn't expect another apology, or an explanation as to why, just an, 'I was wrong'.

That's not what he got.

"But it's been happening more and more. I don't want Cold, or any of the Rouges for that matter, to think of you as an easy target whenever they decide to strike!" Barry didn't even notice the raised tone of his voice. Not quite yelling, just a little louder than he was used to.

Normally, he was calm but somehow his fatherly instincts for Wally were taking over his scientific mind and clearly it was affecting him.

Wally winced slightly as he was not used to his uncle's recently harsh behaviour but he didn't show it on his face for too long: "So? You thawed me out! It still didn't make sense for you to cut me from the Team!" Wally huffed angrily and crossed his arms and looked towards the window, his own voice border lining a yell.

"Stop saying I cut you from The Team! I didn't! I just gave you some time off and once that time is up, you can go back on missions like before," Barry said, forcing calmness. Wally really was acting like a ten year old.

Wally finally cooled down a little.

He had been consumed by his own grief and anger that his mind had refused to acknowledge his uncle's true words. That never happened before and a small part of him was frightened by it.

"Okay, I understand," the younger hero finally said. "But I'm not quitting! Ever!" He snapped. Sure he could have a temper but he wouldn't lose the opportunity of being Kid Flash for anything in the world! If he had to, the red head would fight tooth and nail to keep his double lifestyle. Wally hoped it wouldn't come to that.

To his relief, his uncle smiled.

"Good, because I don't want you to!" Barry replied. He mentally breathed in a sigh of relief as Wally was no longer seemed mad at him. It was a wonder what happened when you explained yourself fully.

"So we're cool?" Wally asked, hopefully. He really was desperate to be on his uncle's good side again.

"Yeah, we were always cool! Hey, do you want to go to a restaurant tomorrow or something?" Barry asked. Maybe treating Wally to some food would make him happier?

"Yeah, I was thinking, maybe Sushi?" Wally said. He knew his uncle's second favourite food was sushi. First was hamburgers.

"Sure, we'll get some sushi, meet me at Mt Justice at 1 o' clock tomorrow." Barry said

"Where are we going?" Wally asked. There were a lot of sushi restaurants and he didn't want to end up at the wrong one…

Barry warmly smiled and decided he would surprise his nephew: "You'll find out tomorrow. And wear your costume." Barry replied

"Ok, bye, Uncle Barry!" Wally said happily. Thank God things are A-Okay now!

"Bye, kid!" Barry responded as he walked down the stairs and towards the door where he exchanged some brief sentences with his brother in law.

Yes, life is great again! Barry thought as he ran down the streets.

If only he knew how quickly it would crumble…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the kudos and comments!!!!


	3. The Light Plans!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for not updating quickly... Internet was down....

At an undisclosed location

Vandal Savage had decided to call a meeting with his "associates" as he had dubbed them. Like-minded people all there for different things but whomall wanted the same goal: The Earth to evolve naturally throughcrime and corruption.

Something that The Justice League hindered.

Although, he had no means of calculating the time, he had guessed they'd been arguing for hours and in circles. The end goal was simple enough, to put an end to the justice league and the kids, but the means to accomplish those goals had not been established yet or were changing, so to speak…

"Why can't we just simply starro-tech the Justice League?" Klarion asked angrily. He too was getting annoyed by the brats' interference, but he did not understand what was so wrong about his extremely easy plan. But noooooo, Vandy and the rest of his merry band had decided they wanted something that would cause 'minimal interference'.

"The young heroes have interfered far more then we should have allowed. I fear if weproceed, the children might be able to knock them out of it." Ocean-Master replied. He hated the fact that his brother was ruling the seven seas when he should be the rightful king. He never understood why mother and father did not see his academic accomplishments and only saw Arthur's brute strength… Strength may be handy in war against other dwellers but when there is war within your people, a mind is required.

Queen Bee spoke up in her low drawl, "Correct me if I am wrong gentleman, but was there not a kidnapping plan for one of the sidekicks to be replaced by a clone?"

She raised a finger to her chin as she continued, "Now Lex… I believe that was your plan?" The dictator of Biyalia teased and smirked. Lex gave a small eye roll, almost narrowing them. Now he didn't normally react like this but considering her recent behaviour... he thought someone had to do it and why not him?

"Queen Bee… that plan is six years old, please do try to keep up. And secondly, it failed." Lex said tiredlybut feigning respect. Two things he could always recognizewere greatness and where things would profit him. Queen Bee fit both of those criteria.

Unfortunately, being the dictator of a nation and the only female on this board of directors gave her quite an ego. Lex himself didn't hate the ego, no; he hated the fact that it was being used at inappropriate times…

Queen Bee still continued her smug look: "Oh I know it failed… I thought you needed another reminder." Now Lex did narrow his eyes.

"Your majesty" Lex said, his voice dripping with sarcasm, "If you can do a better cloning project, than by all means go for it." Lex drenched that last part in the charm that was present towards public appearances.

Vandal immediately recognized the friction building up between the ruler and the CEO, but he wasn't going to let it ruin his work. Not when he was very close. He had waited centuries for Earth to take its place in the centre of the cosmos. The rightful place. And he was not going to allow a silly argument ruin it.

Glaring at Lex, Queen Bee attempted to shoot back a snide remark: "I don't know what-

"Enough" Vandal cut her off before things could escalate. His voice was chillingly coldand commanded immediate respect.

Ra's al Ghul raised an eyebrow in hidden awe. He may not have always agreed with Savage but it was moments like these where he was reminded why Savage was "leader" so to speak. Even though they all had equal status.

Ocean Master was surprised as well. If there was one man on the planet that could get two people to shut up without raising his voice: It was Savage.

"Let's not start dwelling on failures of the past and let us not fall into the horrible cliché that villains can't work together. We have been doing fine for eight years… Let's not break that peace?" Vandal offeredlightly. But here was a hint of malice.

Lex nodded while Bee huffed slightly. Vandal decided not to press it further. He continued: "Now, The Brain has an interesting proposal…"

"Merci Monsieur, now we all understand that ze kids have interfered for too long? But in order to break the kids, you need to break one of them and to zu dis… We need to break one or ALL of those pesky Justice Leaguers…" The Brain said. Each Light member, even Klarion, seemed to seriously be considering the offer.

"So, we're going to choose one of their sidekicks and starro-tech them instead to perform our bidding." Vandal finished his partner's proposal. He leteach of The Light members mull over things in their heads, especially at how their plans were hitting dead ends or having to be constantly modified because those brats decided to show up.

"But kidnapping seems so cliché and besides… who are we going to kidnap?" Klarion asked tiredly. Kidnapping doesn't really work if the individual belonged to a team or some people who would care if they disappeared. Vandal seemed to have read his thoughts.

"Kidnapping wouldn't be the only factor…well multiple kidnappings…" Vandal hinted slightly. The witch boy rubbed his hands together and grinned wickedly. The fun was about to begin!

Queen Bee was to first to speak up. "If we were to consider this Vandal, careful planning would be needed… But Isupposethose can be ironed out later. Let's look at the team shall we?"

Soon images of The Team came up on their holographic screen, allowing The Light to discuss and analyse each member.

Various images and videos came up, including but not limited to: Kid Flash and Flash fighting various Rogues; Aquaman and Aqualad with their fight against Killer Frost; Artemis and Green Arrow in STAR city; Batman and Robin's multiple heroic endeavours in Gotham; The Martians fight against some robots and finally Superman and Superboy saving a bus.

The Light believed that they were working together, but Lex was somehow sure that they weren't.

Ra's al Ghul gave the first insight: "What about Superboy? He is strong and easily angered which makes him easily influenced" Ra's had been alive for many centuries to know what anger and strength can turn a man into… Lex rubbed his temples.

"No, the boy is too angered" Lex countered. He knew his son and Superman didn't have the easiest relationship and by careful wording: that could be Lex's advantage. But Match had proved what Superboy could potentially do to them, should their plan be revealed.

"What about the Martian girl? P'Simon said that she has a strong telepathic mind which could be useful." Vandal offered. Now it was Queen Bee's turn to counter the young sidekicks.

"No, P'Simon also said that her mind is too strong and she cannot control here telepathy. She could turn on us before any of us or she could even blink…" Bee responded dryly.

Sure she had valuable blackmail material on the Martian but considering that P'Simon was lying catatonic in a hospital, she wasn't going to risk it…

"What about the Atlantean?" The Brain offered.

"He is strong minded and has lead this… team out of much darker situations… Us kidnapping him would not have any effects as his mind is clearly trained to take on worse…" Ocean Master replied.

Although, he did not think highly of his brother, he had to admit his protégé could and had handled worse. Nothing was worse than getting your heart stomped over.

"Plus it's Aquaman… Everybody knows he's like the lamest Justice League member there is." Klarion sneered. This remark got quite a chuckle out of Lex and Ocean-Master.

"What about the archer girl?" Lex offered.

"Nope, Cheshire already said that the Archer Girl is of limits." Vandal countered. He hated taking orders from under lackeys as he called them but allies should not be lost.

"Archer boy, then?" Klarion asked.

"Cheshire said the exact same thing with the Archer boy" The Brain said. Queen Bee laughed a little.

"Cheshire's situation with Red Arrow reminds me of Firestorm and Killer Frost back in the early days…"

"What is up with Cheshire and the Archers?" Klarion asked. Where were the ruthlessness and the fun that Vandal had offered him?

"Since when do we take orders from Cheshire?" Lex asked. He did not want to get bossed around by employees who were taking his money.

"We don't. However, we don't want to lose any of our allies and my League of Shadow members as you know are excellent allies." Ra's Al Ghul replied. He could not bear any more negativity towards his League. He had trained them well enough to know the consequences of love.

Vandal Savage sighed. They really weren't going anywhere with this and by the looks of things… Starro-teching the whole of the so-called Earth's saviours by another attempted clone project was the only option looking clear right now… He really didn't want to go down that route, considering the last clone… Malfunctioned so to speak…

Klarion eyes lit up: "What about the boy wonder? He'll be perfect, Batman will be upset and search for the boy making the Justice League have no leadership and fall!"

"No, him and the Atlantean are too well trained. He faces the Joker every other day, gets kidnapped and most likely tortured by some crazy Gotham so-called villain, making it difficult to corner him… He is a bat after all…" Ra's Al Ghul smiled slightly. He knew Bruce had trained Robin and Ra's had trained Bruce.

"Ok, fine what about the newbie?" Ocean-Master asked. This instantly earned looks of disapproval of his fellow teammates. He glared slightly. He got enough disapproval in Atlantis, thank you very much…

"She is a newbie after all so I doubt she'll have anything we can use." Lex responded. He was not going to spend his money on some investment that hadn't gained enough market value.

"Ok, what about magician girl" Queen Bee suggested.

"NO!" Klarion exclaimed. Vandal understood the witch boy's horrified response

"She is good but young with some sort of connections with Dr Fate, who almost took Klarion out last time. So no." Vandal replied instead of Klarion.

Now it was the witch boy's turn to close his eyes and rub his forehead: "Ok so we've got, too angered, too strong minded, too tough, too off-limits, too well trained, too new and too connected! You're not leaving a lot of options!" Klarion said.

Vandal nodded in agreement. Lex once again smiled. Vandal had recognized that smile. It was a classic Lex Luther smile that said, 'I have found a new way to profit me'.

"There is however one option left, Kid Flash." Lex said proudly. Unfortunately, judging by his associates confused, tired and 'are-you-kidding-me' looks, more explanation was warranted…

"Flash boy, seriously? I would take archer girl instead of him, any day!" Klarion complained. Sure he may have defeated him once but that was Nabu, the old geezer!

Lex ignored his comment and continued on: "He may not seem ideal, but the encounter that he is present at, seem to make him the goofy one of the group and also gullible." Lex had done some research on all the sidekicks, but Kid Flash interested him the most.

Especially why the Justice League would want an impulsive, bratty teenager who Lex was sure that he was going to die tripping over his own feet or crashing into a wall… Or something ridiculous to that extent…

Queen Bee had begun to understand Lex's point: "And besides The Flash has the least intimidating villains to handle… They're all just a bunch of bank robbers and petty thieves. So he doesn't have any experience, or is off limits or a strong mind." Bee said, building on from her previous point.

"Leading from that point, the worst Kid Flash has probably gone up against is Professor Zoom and kidnapping is not his style…" Ocean-Master added on. A point was now forming in his head.

"Yeah… I think we are all forgetting the main reason we are here… He's the sidekick of the Flash, the Flash! I doubt him being upset would 'crumble' the Justice League!" Klarion argued. Unlike his associates, Lex's initial point was not beginning to be clear in his head. But what could Klarion do? His mind was nothing but Chaos!

"Yes, but from my observations from the press conferences the Justice League holds, the Flash seems to be the least "stiff" from the likes of Batman, Wonder Woman and Captain Atom, so to say. " Lex argued back. He had done quite some research on The Flash and Kid Flash. Like he said, he always researched a potential investment…

"So, if the League's nicest guy is down with the blues, the stiffs of the Justice League will break into battle themselves without any of us lifting a major finger and then we will strike?" Ocean-Master questioned. This seemed to have earned some nods from the rest.

Ra's Al Ghul frowned slightly: "A plan like this could be risky… Multiple variables need to be considered and what parameters will be placed to break the boy down?"

Lex smiled once again. He seemed to be doing a lot of that since his plan of Kid Flash was introduced.

"The plan… Ra's… Just leave that to me…" Lex mysteriously whispered. The Demon's head seemed to be satisfied with the CEO's answer.

"It's perfect and I might be able to bring the chaos!" Klarion jeered. Perhaps Kid Flash wasn't so useless after all…

"Gents" Vandal glanced towards Queen Bee "and lady, I believe that concludes today's meeting." and with that, each member signed off, leaving behind blank screens.

**Author's Note:**

> Also posted on fanfiction.net..


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